On March 13, 2024 Ethereum Dencun Upgrade will launch. That's a major hardfork, designed to boost the Ethereum network's scalability, security, and usability.
Building upon the success of previous upgrades such as the Shanghai upgrade, Dencun aims to establish a more robust infrastructure for decentralized applications and improve the overall user experience on Ethereum.
"Dencun" comes from merging the names of the planned hard forks for Ethereum's consensus layer (Deneb) and its execution layer (Cancun).
Cancun: Enhancing Scalability
The Cancun upgrade targets the execution layer of the Ethereum network. It brings in multiple Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) to boost scalability and streamline gas efficiency.
By adopting the proto-danksharding technique, the upgrade seeks to segment the Ethereum blockchain into smaller units known as "blobs."
This enables simultaneous processing of transactions and smart contracts, significantly enhancing the network's speed and drastically reducing transaction fees.
Deneb: Improving Consensus and Security
The Deneb upgrade on the other side., aims to strengthen Ethereum's consensus layer by improving security and consensus mechanisms. A key change is EIP-2322, which upgrades the Ethereum Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm for better robustness and efficiency.
Planned EIPs
There’s a few Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) planned to achieve all that. Let’s review them:
- EIP-2322: Enhances Ethereum's consensus layer, refining the proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism for greater efficiency and security against malicious activities.
- EIP-4844: At the core of the Cancun update, it introduces Proto-Danksharding to boost transaction throughput and scalability, vital as Ethereum's popularity grows.
- EIP-1153: Aims to reduce data storage costs and optimize block space, making transactions more cost-effective.
- EIP-4788: Enhances cross-chain bridge and staking pool infrastructure, improving functionality and security for better interoperability.
- EIP-5656: Implements minor yet crucial EVM code changes for enhanced performance, enabling Ethereum to handle more complex operations efficiently.
- EIP-6780: Enhances security by removing the SELFDESTRUCT code function, reducing vulnerabilities in smart contracts for improved network integrity.
Source: moralis.io
To sum it up, the Dencun upgrade, is crucial for Ethereum. It tackles lingering issues from the Shanghai update in April 2023, aiming to make the platform more appealing for both everyday users and developers.
Do you have something to add? Join the crypto talk at our Telegram Group.